Josh Hazlewood Archives

Shaheen Afridi soars to Men’s ODI Bowling Rankings summit

DUBAI: Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi made a big leap to top the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s ODI Bowling Rankings.

Shaheen Afridi, the spearhead of Pakistan’s pace attack, jumped nine places to claim the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings, owing to his impressive showing in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.

He has taken the joint most wickets in the tournament alongside Australia leg spinner Adam Zampa, with both bowlers taking 16 wickets each.

He added three wickets to his tally yesterday during Pakistan’s thumping seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in Kolkata, helping his side remain in contention for the semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2023.

Shaheen Afridi also became the fastest pacer to take 100 wickets in ODI cricket during the match against Bangladesh. He achieved the milestone in 51 innings, piping previous record-holder Mitchell Starc, who conceded 52 innings.

Shaheen Afridi overtook the likes of Australia’s Josh Hazlewood (second), India’s Mohammed Siraj (third) and South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj (fourth) in the ICC ODI Bowling Rankings, who lost one place courtesy of his big leap.

He has occupied the number one ranking in any format for the first time, meanwhile, his teammate and Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam has clung to his number one spot in the ICC ODI Batting Rankings by the barest of margins.

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Babar Azam is holding onto his position with 818 rating points, however, right-handed Indian batter Shubman Gill is ranked second with a difference of a mere two rating points.

Azam has accumulated a total of 216 runs from seven innings in the ICC World Cup 2023, while Shubman Gill has managed only 104 runs in four innings.

Moreover, Australian opening batter David Warner, who is currently the second-highest run-scorer in the ICC World Cup 2023 jumped one spot to fourth. Warner has scored 413 in six innings at an average of 68.83.

Netherlands’ skipper Scott Edwards also made a big leap of 11 places to equal 16th position after scoring 204 runs from six innings at the ICC World Cup 2023.

South Africa’s Marco Jansen moved two places to ninth in the ICC all-rounders rankings, while New Zealand youngster Rachin Ravindra climbed 14 spots to 17th.

READ: Shaheen Afridi becomes fastest pacer to 100 ODI wickets

Hazlewood, Siraj share top-spot in latest ICC ODI Bowling Rankings

DUBAI: India’s Mohammed Siraj and Australia’s Josh Hazlewood are tied on rating points at the top of the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s ODI Bowling Rankings ahead of ICC World Cup 2023, commencing tomorrow in India.

Both pace bowlers will enter ICC World Cup 2023 as top-ranked ODI bowlers after Mohammed Siraj lost 11 rating points during the final ODI against Australia and ended up with 669 rating points equaling Josh Hazlewood.

Siraj gave away 68 runs for one wicket from his nine overs in Rajkot during Australia’s 66-run victory, while, Josh Hazlewood returned with figures of 2-42 in his eight overs to retain his rating points.

They are closely followed by Afghanistan’s spin bowling duo Mujeeb Ur Rahman (657) and Rashid Khan (655) at third and fourth position respectively.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi jumped two places to sixth with 632 points, as Australia’s Mitchell Starc dropped to eighth position with 628 points after picking one wicket for 57 runs from 7 overs in his ODI comeback in the final ODI in the series against India.

India’s Kuldeep Yadav also dropped one spot and moved out of the top ten bowlers in the ICC ODI Rankings with 611 points and was replaced by Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi with 621 points.

Moreover, Australian opening batter David Warner jumped two places in the ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings to become joint-fourth alongside Ireland’s Harry Tector with 729 ranking points

David Warner scored three fifties in three games and was the second-highest run scored with 161 runs in the series against India.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam (857) retained his position at the top of the ODI Batting Rankings, with Indian batter Shubman Gill (839) following him closely at the second spot.

Australia’s Glenn Maxwell on the other hand climbed 10 places to grab the 11th spot in ICC Men’s ODI All-rounder Rankings after he returned with figures of 4-40 in the third ODI against India, marking his return to ODI cricket after being sidelined due to an injury.

READ: Zaka Ashraf wishes Pakistan team luck ahead of ICC World Cup 2023

Josh Hazlewood ruled out of WTC Final, Neser replaces injured pacer

LONDON: Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of ICC World Test Championship final against India due to his ongoing Achilles and side issue.

Michael Neser will replace Josh Hazlewood in the Australian squad for the mega clash at the Oval’s London from June 7 to 11.

Josh Hazlewood has been fighting injury since leaving the Royal Challengers Bangalore early during the Indian Premier League, and Australia has decided not to take any chances with the right-armer ahead of a busy away schedule.

World Test Championship Final’s Event Technical Committee also approved the late change made by the Australian team.

The inclusion of all-rounder Neser to Australia’s 15-member squad for the one-off Test makes him a contender for the final XI along with Scott Boland.

Neser has been in excellent form recently for Glamorgan in England’s Country Championship as he claimed 19 wickets from five matches and even managed to score a hundred against Sussex.

The right-arm has played only two Tests during his career but could find a place in the final XI and partner skipper Pat Cummins and fellow pacer Mitchell Starc for the World Test Championship Final.

34-year-old Boland, on the other hand, has played seven Tests for his country – the most recent being the series opener against India at Nagpur in February – but has claimed 28 wickets at an imposing average of 13.42, making him a better choice than Neser.

It is hoped Hazlewood will be available for selection for the first Ashes Test in Birmingham from June 16.

Updated Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner

Standby players: Mitch Marsh, Matthew Renshaw

Carey rescues Australia to seal consolation win over Sri Lanka in fifth ODI

COLOMBO: Australia’s wicket-keeper batter Alex Carey rescued his side in the run chase before Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins dismantled the Sri Lankan batting lineup to power their side to seal a consolidating victory in the fifth ODI.

In a dead-rubber fifth ODI, Australia held their nerves calm in the run chase as Carey bolstered his side with a defiant knock to propel the touring side to a six-wicket victory as they chased down 161 in the 40th over.

In the run chase, the touring side were off to a dismal start as they lost four wickets for a mere 50 runs. Carey and Marnus Labuschagne then anchored the run chase with a 51-run partnership for the fifth wicket and neutralized the horror before Dunith Wellalage trapped the latter in his legs for 31.

The wicket-keeper Carey then ran into a brief partnership with the all-rounder Glenn Maxwell as they added 20 runs to the team’s total before Wellalage struck again to break the partnership as Australia slipped to 121/6 with forty more to win.

The bowling all-rounder Cameron Green then displayed brilliance as he joined hands with Carey to steer the side to the victory in the 40th over. Carey remained unbeaten with his gritty 45 off 65 balls with the help of a boundary, while Green scored a valiant 25 not out on 26 balls.

For Sri Lanka, Wellalage shone with the ball; taking three wickets, while Maheesh Theekshana bagged two. Pramod Madushan, on the other hand, made one scalp.

Batting first, the Australian bowlers completely dominated the hosts’ batting lineup as seven batters could not manage to score in double figures.

The all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne fought hard with his valiant knock of a run-a-ball 75 but he too, could not bolster his side to a defendable total as Sri Lanka could only score 160 before bowling out in the 44th over.

For Australia, Matthew Kuhnemann, Hazlewood, and Cummins picked two wickets each while Maxwell and Green struck out a batter each.

READ: ‘Sarfaraz is the only backup option for Rizwan in Tests’ claims Rashid Latif

Hazlewood’s brilliance assists Australia to overpower Sri Lanka in first T20I

SYDNEY: Australia’s pacer – Josh Hazlewood returned with match-winning figures of 4-12 to help the home side thump Sri Lanka by 20 runs in the first T20, here on Friday.

In a rain-affected first T20I at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), the home side defeated Sri Lanka by 20 runs as per the DLS method.

Batting first, Australia posted a commendable total of 149/9 in the allotted 20 overs, thanks to the magnificent half-century by Ben McDermott up the order, while apart from Marcus Stoinis, the rest of their batters struggled to get going.

Stoinis provided a late onslaught, down the order; scoring 30 runs off 17 deliveries, laced with two boundaries and as many sixes, while McDermott anchored the innings with a terrific 53 off 41 balls. He smashed two boundaries and three sixes.

Despite a poor batting performance from the rest of the batters, with eight batters unable to reach into the double figures. The home side managed to post a 150-runs target for the Lions.

Set to chase 150, the touring openers failed to provide a solid start and the side kept losing wickets at a consistent rate. Opener – Pathum Nissanka, on the other hand, stood firm to score a gritty 36 but he too soon perished in the 11th over.

Rain also came into play in the ninth over; forcing the second innings to be reduced to 19 overs and a revised target of 143 for the Lions.

As a result, the touring side could not cope with the mounting required run-rate and kept losing wickets while attempting to go big with the bat. Sri Lanka, in the end, was restricted to 122-8 in the revised allotted overs; handing an easy 20-runs victory to the hosts.

For Australia, Hazlewood starred with four wickets, while Adam Zampa managed to grasp three. Pat Cummins, on the other hand, made one scalp.

Hazlewood’s brilliance assists Australia overpower Sri Lanka in first T20I

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